Coasting with Culture's 2017 Utah, Idaho & Wyoming Tour

Part 5, Yellowstone Bear World

5/28/2017 - The next day of our tour would take us for the longest drive as we would be going up North to Idaho, and then East into Wyoming for some shameless credits, excellent views and opportunities to wander.

Along the way up to Yellowstone Bear World, we made a stop at Hell's Half Acre Lava Field in Idaho. It is located right off of Interstate 15, and features a trail where you can see the rock formations that were created by a prehistoric volcanic eruption.

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A bit more of a drive more, and we would arrive to Yellowstone Bear World.

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Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

This place is known for their driving zoo where you have an opportunity to see a variety of animals that can be found in nearby Yellowstone National Park. The first portion of the drive-through features animals that tend to be a vegetarian, such as Deer, Elk, Prarie Dogs and Buffalo.

Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

The second part of the drive though is where you see a variety of bears that call Yellowstone home.

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Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

Photo Credit: Nicole Forst

What makes the drive through interesting is just how close you can get to the bears as you go. There were a few close encounters as we went through the course.

After the drive through portion of Yellowstone Bear World, we went into the other portion which had several things to see and do.

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Bear World does feature a few amusement rides that are included with your admission into the park (which includes the drive through animal exhibit). Most of the rides are on the smaller side and geared more for the kids.

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But that wouldn't stop us from going for another shameless coaster credit. This time we rode the Log Roller Coaster, an SBF Visa 2-Loop Spinning Coaster that is becoming one of the most popular models of junior coasters for smaller parks because of the small footprint that it

has thanks to it's figure-8 layout. It also provides a generally fun ride that can be enjoyed by the older crowd along with the younger kids.

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The other highlight of Bear World is being able to see some of the animals up-close. Including these adorable black bear cubs!

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We even got to see an inpromptu bear wrestling match! They were too stinkin' cute.

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There were other animals that you could view including a large moose and swans. In the distance you could also see the bears that you were able to see from your vehicle while driving through the drive-through portion.

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There is also a petting zoo area of the park with a variety of barnyard animals as well as some deer. They were fairly tame, making it possible to get upclose and personal.

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Speaking of upclose and personal, that brings us to the incredibly friendly deer.

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This had to be one of the friendliest deer I have ever seen. Once you approached her gave her a nice pet, she would latch on to you by licking just about every inch of skin that she can get to with her tongue. As shown below with example 1.

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And below, we have example 2 as Nicole would find out. She was a very friendly deer. (Maybe she was just using us for the saltiness of our sweat, but I'm going to pretend she was really friendly).

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This also led t what I think is my favorite group photo, where even she was looking in the right direction.

So after going to wash our faces and arms and anywhere else that deer may have licked, it was on to the gift shop to see what all they had to offer. They had their own in-house fudge that was absolutely delicious! They also had a variety of plush animals including bears, and of course bear based t-shirts, so of which were really funny.

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And with that, we end our visit to Yellowstone Bear World. This was a really fun place to visit, and I would strongly suggest making a stop if

you have the opportunity to do so while traveling in Idaho.

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Up next, we head East into the Grand Tetons on our way to Jackson, Wyoming to visit Snow King Mountain.

And that concludes our arrival day into Utah! Join us for the next update as we head North for a glimpse into the past at the site of one of the most significant transportation projects in the history of the United States. ​